


Cute space boyfriends

by Marium, vendekk



Series: Regan week [7]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Collaboration, Fluff, Human Rick, Light Angst, M/M, Space AU, alien Negan, bodypaint, communication problems, shapeshifting Negan, simple mechanic-turned-diplomat Rick, sizeshifting Negan, space general Negan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-12
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-12-14 10:19:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11781108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marium/pseuds/Marium, https://archiveofourown.org/users/vendekk/pseuds/vendekk
Summary: Illustrations and a couple scenes from an AU in which Negan is a general of a shapeshifting alien race and Rick is a human diplomat he grows fond of.Regan week, day 2 - AU





	Cute space boyfriends

**Author's Note:**

> A few things to keep in mind: This whole au is something Dekk and I have made together. He made the art and I wrote the scenes. It's not a fully cohesive thing because it's specific scenes of a larger thing rather than a properly narrated story. Still, I hope that the information slipped into the scenes will be enough for you people not to be too lost :) We hope you enjoy!
> 
> Link to the art's tumblr post: https://grimephilia.tumblr.com/post/164086034000/regan-week-day-2-au-lajanaviatnegan-aka-negan-is

 

 

 

-0-o-0-o-0-

 

Negan’s hand rested on the door for a full minute, simultaneously desiring to throw it down and retreat as if the stone of it burned him. Negan closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down, to not let the anxiety get the best of him. He had faced worse things. He had led soldiers against armies, he had crushed uprisings, and dealt with political tensions. Compared to that, what could a simple conversation be?

And yet, he had to force his hand to knock instead of letting himself turn and walk away.

The moments between that and the door opening felt long, long, long, far longer than they really were. Negan could swear everything was stopped at the same time it happened too fast, when the door cracked open and slowly revealed the man that had occupied so many of Negan’s thoughts.

Rick was still wearing light blue, that was the first thing he saw, a blue that matched the wide eyes looking up at him. A blue that was naturally on Rick, the same blue on Negan’s skin, a sign they were _meant to be_. Three weeks without seeing him and that was the first thing he noticed. The sight made him forget everything for a moment and he found himself grinning widely down at the human. Rick nodded warily in response, and just like that, Negan was broken back into reality.

He sighed tiredly. Slowly, he let his colourful skin take a duller tone, let his height go down, and his anatomy change into that of a human being. In a matter of seconds Rick’s face was just inches below his. He adjusted his clothes to his new shape, tried his smile again, only this time it was less convinced, less feral. Rick looked at him with a hint of apprehension, and silently turned around to walk inside.

Rick offered Negan a glass of wine when they sat down on the living room. Negan eagerly accepted it.

“You wanna pamper me up with fancy shit, huh?”

“I keep telling you, it’s just average, what we could afford to bring here” Rick replied with a shrug, serving himself a cup and sitting across Negan. There was some awkwardness in his gesture, as if he was ashamed of it. “You’d lose your mind over actual good wine. I wish I could offer you something real, but I couldn’t afford it.”

“It’s good, I like this. It’s more than alright. Remind me to take you to some fine ass restaurant one of these days in exchange” Negan mused, taking a sip. He couldn’t help his moan; he didn’t know if Rick was being modest or if this really was an average drink back on Earth, but it drove him mad. It was downright intoxicating - which apparently was ironic, if Rick’s reaction when he’d said that once was anything to go by.

He hoped to get an answer out of Rick. Instead, he got a vague hum, and that was it. Negan drank, sip by sip, waiting for something that never came. Rick was the offended one, and it was his place to start the conversation on his own terms. But as the minutes dragged on, Negan started to fear that Rick didn’t want to talk to him at all. He felt himself go pale at the prospect, his heart beat faster, a knot in his gut. He couldn’t even make himself look up at Rick’s face.

Fifteen minutes and no words. The glass had been empty for ten. It seemed like Rick really didn’t have anything to say to him, Negan realized. He had really fucked up. He had scared him away and maybe worse than that. Maybe Rick hated him for having taken advantage.

But even if that was the case, Negan wouldn’t let him go so easily. He couldn’t. He opened his mouth, and right in that moment both of their voices mixed, hasty, nervous, desperate.

“I miss you.”

“When were you planning to tell me?”

The silence sat between them again, and then Negan laughed awkwardly, hoping to lighten the mood. Rick didn’t laugh. Negan cut his laugh short, and made a gesture for Rick to speak.

Rick took his time, licked his lips nervously, but when he did speak, his voice was firm, sure, unwavering, demanding.

“When were you going to tell me, Negan? That night? The following day? That week? In a month? When I had accepted some marriage proposal without even knowing it? Tell me. Please tell me.”

Each of Rick’s words sat heavily on Negan, they were rocks on his gut weighting him down, making him sink, shrink on his seat, leaving his mouth dry and trapping his words. The thought of the gift he had waiting for Rick at home, the one that would have made it official, made him close his eyes and flinch specially hard. He almost tried to answer, take the chance Rick gave him, but Rick mistook his lack of words for unwillingness to speak.

“That lady I was speaking to, she said… She said I was lucky for being your soon-to-be mate” Rick mused, his words coming out slowly and hard, as if he had a hard time believing them himself. “Is it true? Was that your intention?”

“It was” Negan answered. Rick deserved the truth, at the very least. “It still is. I want you, Rick.”

“Well, maybe letting me know would have been a good starting point!”

Rick had suddenly broken out of that defensive shell of his, and now frustration and indignation burned in his eyes. Against all odds, that made Negan relax. Awkwardness and silence he didn’t know what to do with. Anger and explosiveness, now that was something he could deal with. It wasn’t easy, but he could.

“Rick, I thought you knew! Hell, I knew you missed _some_ things, the more formal ones, and yeah, I admit I did them because I fucking liked seeing you accept them. I wanted to let people know. But Rick, most of it… Fuck, I thought you could read my intentions. I assumed you knew I’ve been interested in you from the get-go.”

What Negan didn’t expect for a reaction was Rick laughing and shaking his head in incredulity. He wasn’t even angry anymore, he just… It was like this was all one big joke he didn’t believe. Negan’s stomach clenched at the thought. That Rick saw his intentions as something to laugh at.

“I know? I know? Negan, listen to me. I have absolutely no idea of what happens around here. All of this is, well, it’s alien to me. The only reason I know how to somewhat handle myself around here is that I got you. I’m completely dependant on you. How the hell am I supposed to figure out anything if you don’t tell me? How can I know anything if you _lie_ to me because you feel like it? I had no fucking idea you were into me.”  
  
“Well, I am.” Negan’s voice was low, smooth, soothing. He chose to leave aside the hurt Rick’s accusations were causing him. He had the right to be angry, to lash out, and Negan got to bear with it. He felt at a loss, when it struck him: Rick literally had no idea about anything here, and Negan had been taking advantage of him all along. Had Rick not been in front of him, he’d have screamed angrily at himself.

“I am, Rick, and I’m sorry for the way I did it, but I’m not going to change my intentions. I want you, and I want to build something with you. I care about you. The other night I was going to formally introduce you to the Empress, and what do I find when we come back? You’re gone. Dammit Rick, you gave me a hell of a scare.”

Ideally, the news that Negan was serious enough to want to introduce Rick to the Empress would have impressed him so much that all the anger and frustration would wash away. No such luck.

“The Empress” Rick repeated in a tiny voice, a slightly higher pitch than usual, as his face went pale. Negan frowned in confusion. “The Empress! Oh god, this is too much. Fuck, fuck, fuck…”

“What the hell are you talking about, Rick?”

Rick took his hands away from where he had put them hiding his face, just low enough to stare at Negan with wide eyes. He seemed about to scream, but he stopped, took a deep breath, gave himself a full minute, and then he went on.

“I want you to understand something, Negan. A year ago, humanity didn’t know about any other sentient species. Aliens have always been a part of our horror stories. We’re not even done exploring our own solar system and then we’re visited by some space empire that says we either cooperate peacefully or they’ll subdue us by force. I’m tasked with trying to work with a technology I still can’t even begin to understand, I talk to some dude who happens to be an alien in human form, and the next thing I know is that I’m being told I’m gonna spend a year in the other corner of the galaxy where I know literally nothing. My children and almost everyone I care about are at a distance that you can make in five days and we can’t even begin to fantasize about making in centuries, I depend on you if I ever want to see them again. It turns out the general of a deathly army that can destroy planets as if it was nothing has taken a fancy to me and hangs out with me all the time. Alright. Until then I can deal. More or less. But now the guy I depend on to do everything, that guy who happens to be one of the most lethal warriors in the universe, is _courting_ me. And he wants to introduce me to the _Empress_ of the largest space empire as if it was the most casual thing ever.”

Rick had started to shake and hyperventilate, his voice was simultaneously louder and weaker, and his wide eyes, although he wasn’t crying, had some shine to them as he went all over Negan’s face. It hurt Negan to see it, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“Negan, I… I… I’m pretending. I’m pretending all the time. I pretend I know what I’m doing, I pretend I feel confident, I pretend I’m calm about everything. Every morning I have to practice my smile on the mirror because everyone will know otherwise. You want the truth? The truth is I’m terrified. I’m absolutely terrified and I can’t do anything about it.”

A thick, long silence settled after that. Negan didn’t say anything. He didn’t as much as move. He waited until Rick had calmed down, and then he spoke, voice quiet and controlled, afraid that guilt and self-anger would show otherwise.

“I’ll arrange it for you to be taken home tomorrow.”

He stood after that, face blank. He turned around, and without saying anything he walked towards the door, away from Rick before he lost his cool himself. The last thing Rick needed was for Negan to lose his shit in front of him.

He almost jumped when Rick took his hand from behind, silently urging him to stop. He did just that, and even if everything in him was screaming not to, he closed his eyes and leaned into the touch when Rick’s forehead touched his back.

“My duty here doesn’t end for another nine months, Negan, and I intend to see it to the end. I’m fine. I’ll be fine. I just… I need you to give me some time to process everything, please. And I need you to be sincere with me from now on.”  
  
“Of course I will.” Negan’s answer came right away, without even needing to let it go through his brain. “I’m sorry, Rick. I fucking swear, I am. If you’re still willing to have me around, I’ll do it right.”

“Well, I kinda need you to direct me around, don’t I?”

It was weak, but Negan could hear it: the hint of amusement, of lightheartedness, in Rick’s voice. When he turned around with a weak smile on his lips, he found out Rick was mirroring it. His own smile grew, and he allowed himself to reach out to touch and gently squeeze Rick’s elbow.

“See you around, then.”

“You can count on that.”

 

 

-0-o-0-o-0-

 

 

“Fucking hell, Rick, stop moving or you’re gonna screw the whole damn pattern up!”

Negan’s hands pressed down on Rick’s back, making him stand still. Rick squirmed a little, but a few seconds later he just sighed and tried to force himself to relax. He was lying on his bed, face down and wearing nothing but his pants, trying not to move too much while Negan’s fingers worked deftly on leaving bright blue paint patterns over his muscles and skin, very much like the ones that had already dried on Rick’s chest and stomach.

Rick readjusted his arms under his chin as subtly as he could and took a deep breath, trying, and mostly managing, to relax. He felt Negan’s mouth press on his nape, almost a kiss if the wide smile that he could feel on the other’s face didn’t stop Negan’s lips from doing so. It was a small thank you for the effort Rick was making, and Rick took in with a wide smile of his own.

Less than three minutes later, though, Rick was again fighting the urge to squirm and roll around. Negan cursed.

“Damn you, Rick. Again? Are you serious?”

“Well, not my fault you’re taking so fucking long” Rick grumbled back, almost turning to give Negan his best glare, but stopped when Negan’s hand easily put his face back into the mattress, leaving some paint on his hair in the process. “I’m starting to get sore over here, you know. Can’t you make it a bit quicker?”

“I’m doing my damn motherfucking best over here, sweetie. Any faster and this whole thing goes to shit. We have to wash you up and start again and then you’ll be twice as sore. All because you can’t handle being a little damn patient. Is that what you want?”

“Negan, you’re such an asshole” Rick muttered as he, once more, rolled his neck around before settling back down. Negan’s fingers started again on their meticulous work; as much as he was bitching, Rick knew his body was gonna be a piece of art by the time his lover was done.

Negan’s hands had come from Rick’s middle to lower back fifteen minutes later, almost massaging him as if to make up for the stillness he was asking of the man. He leaned forward and pressed another kiss to Rick’s head - he never could get enough of it - just as his thumbs met at the base of Rick’s spine, closing the pattern.

Rick smiled thinking that Negan was done, ready to turn around and catch his lips with his own, but then Negan drew back and put his hands back on Rick’s shoulders. He massaged a bit, working the tension away, and then started going through the filigree he had left on the skin all over again.

The difference now, though, was that Negan’s fingertips were finer, sharper, just on the edge of being claws. If Negan put enough force on the strokes he made with his other set of hands, they wouldn’t have trouble tearing the skin and making red go along with the blue. Rick shivered in the most pleasant way.

“The most important details have to be done with appropriate tools” Negan explained with a chuckle as he got more paint on his fingers. He ran them here and there, adding the lightest of strokes to his already intricate design. He seemed to get what Rick was feeling, because he put a bit more pressure for a second, scraping Rick’s skin, and laughed softly when Rick shivered again.

“If this goes better why didn’t you do it like this from the start?”

“Because feeling your hot, soft, gorgeous body under my hands as you squirm and groan is something I _have_ to stretch out, Rick. Gonna have to go over your front later too. We’re over halfway done here, don’t you worry.”

The feel of the delightfully dangerous sharpness running on his back lasted for less than five minutes and then Rick was allowed to sit up. He groaned in relief as he stretched sitting on the edge of the bed, letting the tension slip out. Negan rolled his eyes, as if Rick had no reason to complain after being held still for a little over an hour and was being childish, before dropping to his knees between Rick’s legs.

Rick’s eyebrow rose up. Negan stuck his tongue out between his teeth as his hands, bright red in contrast to the rest of his skin, gently pushed Rick back. Rick leaned back, watching with avid interest as Negan pressed a kiss on his navel before starting giving some extra details to the design on Rick’s front.

Rick couldn’t stop looking at the look of deep concentration on his lover’s face, at the care and dedication he put on each movement, and he couldn’t help but let his face grow hot. Negan was obviously very invested in this and Rick loved it. He brought his hand up, letting it nestle between Negan’s locks of hair. The man grinned up at Rick, his eyes glowing with mischief as his claws circled blue around Rick’s nipples. This time, Rick moaned.

The frontal part of the claw phase was done as quickly as the one on Rick’s back, and then he was allowed to stand up. He closed his eyes, letting himself get lost on the sensation of Negan standing at his side, massaging Rick’s right upper arm and staining it with fresh paint as he put soft, long kisses on Rick’s shoulder. Then his fingers ran down, leaving ten simple, thin stripes all along Rick’s arm, finishing with a spiral on the back of his hand. The human gasped quietly, feeling goosebumps prickle all over his skin.

“Enjoying yourself, aren’t you?” Even with his eyes closed, Rick had no problems picturing Negan’s shit-eating grin as he spoke. He chose not to indulge the man, grunting instead. That seemed to be a good enough response to Negan, who put a loud, wet kiss on Rick’s cheek before repeating the process on Rick’s left arm. This time Rick’s gasp was quite louder, and Negan expressed his appreciation with playful nipping on his shoulder.

And then Negan’s fingers were human again, round and thick and soft. Rick gasped into the touch as much as he had seconds earlier, letting Negan paint blue with soft strokes in the sensitive skin under his eyes. There was some more in his forehead, his temple, and then his jaw. Negan was finishing the last touches on his cheeks, simply holding him for the simple pleasure of it as much as working, when he leaned forward to ghost his lips over Rick’s. He breathed heavily, letting Rick work himself up, and pulled away just before Rick lunged forward.

There were a few moments of silence. Rick slowly opened his eyes to see Negan looking him up and down, eyes wide and glowing.

“You look gorgeous, Rick.”

Rick blushed and looked to the side. Negan laughed good-naturedly.

“I thought I was always gorgeous?”  
  
“Fuck yes you are. But this is a different branch inside of your breathtaking gorgeousness, feel me?”

Rick pushed him playfully with a wide grin. He leaned to give him a quick kiss and then sat back down on the bed. Negan silently followed suit, settling down beside him. Negan’s hand, still blue with paint, laid at his side, and Rick put his on top of it. He squeezed warmly.

For a few minutes neither of them said anything. They simply allowed themselves to quietly enjoy one another’s comforting presence.

“Are you nervous?” was the question that finally broke the silence. Negan gave Rick a curious look.

“Not a single damn bit. I’m excited as hell for this, parading this gorgeous guy around with me. Why? Are _you_ nervous?”

“A bit. I’m excited, yes, but nervous too.”

“It’ll be alright, Rick” Negan assured, bringing Rick’s hand up to kiss his fingers. Rick smiled and did the same. He knew that. Negan wouldn’t allow him anything but have a good time in this. He was stubborn like that, always eager to show Rick new stuff from his planet that the human had never seen. So far, he hadn’t failed in amazing him.

There was a brief silence again. Again, it was Rick who broke it.

“Are you sure about this?” he inquired, voice low, eyes cast down. Negan’s brow furrowed in confusion and concern as he turned to better face Rick.

“Absolutely. I want this to happen. Rick, if you’re having second thoughts now’s the time to tell me. I told you, you can tell me if we’re moving along too fast for your liking. Your sense of moving fast and mine aren’t exactly the same, so I can’t know unless you tell me.”

Rick bit his lip down, doubted for a second, but then he shook his head and looked at Negan in the eye. He was kinda shy, the smiley kind of shy, but not insecure.

“It’s not what I don’t want to, but going to this festival with you, it’s an official thing, right? Our first official thing.” Negan confirmed with a nod and Rick sucked lightly on his lip. “It’s a big thing and I’m nervous, that’s all, but I want it. And well, I’m still kinda worried you might change your mind about me someday. I thought this might be the thing to make you take a second look at us.”

Negan was rolling his eyes, dramatic and deep, before Rick was even done talking. He tapped Rick’s forehead lightly, his expression a mix or irritation and amusement.

“Still with that shit, Rick? I’m the one who was ready to marry you a month after meeting you, remember? If you come at me with the ‘I’m just a regular human and you’re so powerful’ bullshit again, I swear I’ll have to spank you into screaming that I love you for the whole damn planet to hear.”

Rick tried to laugh it off, but a bright blush had settled on his face. Negan smirked wide and toothy, drawing Rick in for a long, deep kiss.

“None of that, alright?” he breathed hotly over Rick’s lips afterwards. Rick nodded, holding Negan’s jaw and resting their foreheads together. He closed his eyes and let himself be held.

Eventually, though, his eyes wandered to the body paint Negan had brought. The light blue, the one of Negan’s skin and Rick’s eyes, was open and left aside, but there were more. He turned to Negan, who was happily lying down on the bed, arms crossed beneath his head. Rick poked him on his hip. Negan opened an eye and looked at him curiously.

“Shape into your other form.”

“What for?” Negan asked, sitting up, curiosity still in his eyes. “We’ve still got a while before we have to head out and I’m comfy enough right now.”

“You just do it.”

Negan gave him a raised eyebrow but eventually shrugged and stood up. He shut his eyes tightly, frowned a little in concentration, and then the color of his skin was changing, and so was the shape of his body. Soon his human form was gone and he was glancing at Rick with different eyes that held the same curiosity as he adjusted his clothes.

At least he had learned to keep his size human when he was at Rick’s place, Rick thought with a small snort. It was hilarious when he bumped his head into Rick’s ceiling.

“You happy now?”

Rick nodded and patted the bed, where Negan had sat a minute earlier. He went back in place, and then Rick reached for the paint. He ignored the brighter, more colourful ones, and went for simple light brown. He doubted for all of three seconds before smearing his index and middle fingers in it. He reached out, and with the most care, providing Negan with the chance to pull away, he stroke from under his eye in a single, simple line down to his chin. Negan closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, as if it wasn’t paint but a balm.

“Is this alright?” Rick still asked.

“More than alright” Negan whispered softly, as he would to not scare Rick away those first times they spoke. “Go ahead, darling.”

Rick was more than familiar with colors’ role in Negan’s culture. His eyes flicked down, drawn to the bright blue with dashes of yellow and red that made Negan’s skin. It was light, striking, alive and powerful, and that was exactly what it was meant to be. All that color let everyone know that Negan was in the highest sphere of society. As if anyone didn’t already know.

That same blue that made up Negan’s body was now decorating Rick’s. It let everyone who might still have doubts about it know who the human was with. If Rick hadn’t been so used to going around with Negan he might have been more nervous about it. Now, it was mostly just exciting.

And in return, Rick was putting another stripe down the other side of Negan’s face. The lines crossed at the chin, forming a disproportionate ‘X’, and from the point where they joined Rick continued down towards Negan’s chest after Rick took his upper clothes off. Brown was a dull color, one no one would expect Negan to wear. But it was the color of Rick’s hair.

One of the first things Rick had learned here was that Negan’s species found humans quite pleasant, aesthetically speaking, more or less like Rick would regard a classic marble statue. He knew that to them Rick’s coloration didn’t mean as much as it would on one of them, but he supposed that seeing Negan wearing brown would still be quite a shock.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked once he had reached the lower part of Negan’s chest. “Only one of us needs to decorate, and with your ranking no one would be surprised if you didn’t. We can just wash this off, if you want.”

Negan’s lips drew back, revealing his teeth in an almost snarl. Still, with his eyes closed as he relaxed into Rick’s touch, he looked almost peaceful. “Don’t you fucking dare. Go on.”

A little while later, Rick considered himself done. He took a step back, looked at the decorations he had put on Negan’s skin, and then self-consciously looked at all the work that had been put on his own skin. He wouldn’t say he had half-assed them, but in comparison to his own, the ones on Negan looked incredibly simple. Not necessarily ugly, just… not enough.

Negan was grinning widely as he looked down at them, though. He stood up and drew Rick up, holding the back of his head as he rubbed their for foreheads together. He was pretty much purring. Rick felt a bright grin crawl up to his face.

“I gather you like it, then?”

“I fucking love it” Negan replied cheerfully, still not quite letting go. When he did, though, his expression was softer, not quite serious but more focused. He put his hands on Rick’s shoulders.

“About what you said before, Rick, that bullshit about wiping this clean… I don’t want to hear any of that, alright? I don’t give a fuck I am ‘higher ranking’ than you. This is you and me, and everything else is a different matter entirely. This is as much about me accepting and adapting to you as the other way around.” Negan made a short pause in which he gladly took in Rick’s relaxed acceptance of his words, then added, “In any case, anyone who wants to mock me for it is free to try, I’ll end them myself.”

Rick huffed and rolled his eyes, but his fond grin betrayed him. He went to put the paint back on its place, but he found himself unable to move when Negan embraced him from behind. He grinned happily when he felt the happy nuzzling on his nape.

“I mean it, Rick. And I’m not gonna stop until you believe me.”

Rick’s hand rose up, settling over Negan’s arm splayed across his chest. “I know” he whispered.

When half an hour later they finally headed out to the festival, their clothes were light, exposing enough for everyone to see the colors on their bodies. When they walked out of the door, they did so hand in hand.


End file.
